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The crisis of lower middle class Vienna, 1848-1892: A study of the works of Friedrich Schloegl
Abstract
This dissertation analyses the feuilletons of Friedrich Schlogl, a petty Viennese bureaucrat and social commentator, whose observations of Viennese everyday life during the period 1848-92 were published in various newspapers and journals of the day. His intentionally honest and direct sketches focused on real Viennese life, not the fairy tale images often offered by contemporary writers. Schlogl believed that mid-nineteenth century Vienna was in crisis, primarily due to cultural levelling. By this, Schlogl meant that various areas of Viennese cultural life were becoming mediocre. Moreover, Schlogl contended that middle class Viennese were satisfied with this mediocrity--if they noticed it at all. Schlogl hoped his works would serve a didactic purpose; to educate his fellow Viennese to the dangers of their apathy and to encourage them to act. This study of Schlogl's opus analyses his efforts to define the causes of cultural levelling and his predictions for its likely consequences for Viennese society. Chapter 1 provides relevant biographical and historical information. I also address criticism of the feuilleton as a viable literary genre and Schlogl's sub-genre the Wiener Skizze (Viennese sketch). Chapter 2 discusses Schlogl's portrayal of the strengths and weaknesses of the Viennese character and what he believed the Viennese could do to invigorate their culture. Chapter 3 deals with Schlogl's references to the parent/child value cycle and its effects on the progress of Viennese culture. Chapter 4 investigates institutional influences on Viennese behavior, such as the church and government. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the primary lower middle class Viennese cultural outlets, the folk theater and the folksingers and how Schlogl believed they reflected the general negative trends he saw in Viennese society at large.
Subject Area
Germanic literature|Sociology|Cultural anthropology
Recommended Citation
Fuess, Jo Ann Mitchell, "The crisis of lower middle class Vienna, 1848-1892: A study of the works of Friedrich Schloegl" (1992). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9237661.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9237661